Machine for printing addresses or other matter on forms or the like



Sept. 13, 19232.- KRELL 4. 1,876,969

MACHINE FOR PRINTING ADDRESSES OR OTHER MATTER ON FORMS OR THE LIKE Filed April 5,' 1928 4 sheets sheet 1 Sept. 13, 1932. R LL 1,876,969

MACHINE FOR PRINTING ADDRESSES OR OTHER MATTER ON FORMS OR THE LIKE Sept. 13, 1932. J, KRELL 1,876,969

MACHINE FOR PRINTING ADDRESSES OR OTHER MATTER ON FORMS OR THE LIKE Fiied April 5, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet s 1 4 MA I 122 05 I27 us Sept; 13, 1932. J, KRELL 1,876,969

MACHI NE FOR PRINTING ADDRESSES OR OTHER MATTER 0H FORMS OR THE LIKE Filed April 5, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 av'v sH xnov wan Patented Sept. 13, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH KRELL, OF BERLIN-IPANKOW, GERMANY MACHINE FOR PRINTING ADDRESSES OR OTHER MATTER ON FORMS OR THE LIKE Application filed April 5, 1928, Serial No. 267,736, and in Germany April 16, 1927.

My invention relates to a machine for printing addresses or other matter on forms or the like, for instance, for completing the addresses of'telcgrams arriving at a telegraph station in order to sendthem on to the addressees.

4 In a plant or machine embodying my invention I provide a printing mechanism on a. table, or projecting through a hole in the table, for printing the addresses from printing plates of thin sheet metal.

-The printing mechanism or small printing machine which forms part of the plant, is equipped with a vertically reciprocating printing arm which is designed at its printing end for the reception of exchangeable printing plates of thin sheet metal with types impressed therein. The arm is equipped with a ribbon of known type which is moved past the printing plates. Printing mechanism resembling my small machine in its general features has already been proposed but in my machine the ribbon is carried in the printing head and not on the table as in'the old mechanisms. By combining the ribbon and its accessories with the printing head into a selfcontained unit, I am able to exchange the mechanism without influencing the table.

a The printing mechanism is very simple as to construction and operation and is prefer- .ably equipped with an automatic reversing mechanism for the ribbon feed. The revers ing mechanism preferably comprises a lever which is fulcrumed about the pivot of the lever for operating the driving pawl. Preferably the lever is triangular and two auxiliary pawls engage the lever at two points arranged diametrically opposite with respect to the pivot, the free hook-shaped ends of the pawls resting on the ribbon spools. That one of the pawls which is allotted to the spool from which the ribbon is unwound, engages a notch in the spool after the spool has become empty and is thereby entrained longitudinally upon further rotation of the empty spool while throwing over the reversing lever. The reversing lever now lifts the pawl that had been in active position, from its ratchet wheel and allows the other pawl to engage the ratchet of the other spool.

' of the pedal 109.

Means are provided for completing with absolute reliability the reversing motion after it has been started.

In the accompanying drawings a machine embodying my invention and its detail parts are illustrated diagrammatically by way of example.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation,

Fig. 2 is a partly sectional elevation of the printing mechanism, with the printing arm lowered partly broken open,

Fig. 3 is a plan view also partly broken open,

Figs. 2a and 3a, are respectively side and plan detail views of the ejecting and plate holding means,

Fig. 4 is a detail,

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the printing mech anism, with the printing arm raised,

'Fig. 6 is a section on the line XIXI-in Fig. 8. v

Fig. 7 is a partly sectional elevation,

Fig. 8 is a plan view,

Figs. 9 and 10 are elevations illustrating various positions, of the ribbon-feeding and reversing mechanism,

Fig. 11 shows a somewhat modified printing mechanism in elevation,

Fig. 12 is a plan view of a printing plate.

Referring now to Fig. 1, 1 is the table, 3 is a set of separating cases, and 105 is the printing mechanism of the plant to which my mechanism or small printing machine is applied.

In the example illustrated each case is provided with a horizontal partition 9 and a top 13 and the spaces above and below the partition 9 are divided into six columns 10 by five vertical partitions 11, of metal. D is a 4 lamp holder on an upright 23, above the machine 105, 109 is a pedal adapted to operate the machine, and 113 is a treadle at the end Referring now to Figs. 2 to 12 at the printing station a rubber pad 102 is held in a metal frame 103 which in turn is secured to the table 1 by screws. is a printing arm which is adapted to rock about a pivot 104 in the table 1, 105, 105' are the two side plates bf. 9

the arm and 105", 105" are two transverse braces at the. front end of the arm. 106 is an extension of the arm projecting downwardly beyond the pivot. 104, 107 108 are toggle levers linked to the extension 106. 112 is a pivot in a suitable bracket below the table about which. the pedal 109 is rocking, and it engages a pin 111 on the toggle lever 108 with a slotted eye. 114 is a pull back spring tending to hold the printing arm 105 in its upper or normal position, as shown in Fig. 5.

115 is a printing pad secured between the braces 105" the lower face of which pad is shaped in conformity with the printing plates 118, and 116 are guiding grooves extending in parallel to the braces 105 and formed by the pad 115 and the inwardly bent ends of the braces 105- These grooves are engaged by parallel strips 17 on the sides of the printing plates, Fig. 12, when the plates are inserted by hand as shown in Fig. 3, by arrow 117.

, 119 is a spring catch equipped with a spring 121 and guided by a bridge plate 120 on the pad 115. The spring 121 tends to hold the catch permanently in the position shown in Fig. 3 or to return it into that position. 119' is a downwardly directed strip at the end of the catch 119 which engages behind a part 112 projecting beyond the end of the printing plate 118,Fi-g.' 6. The other end of the catch 119 is inclined and engaged by a rod 23 which is pivotally secured to a shaft 24 carried in a bracket 25 on the table 1.

One end of a shaft 28 is mounted in the side plate 105' (located behind in Figure 3) of the printing arm (see also Figures 2 and 11) while a second shaft 27 is secured in a bracket 26 of the front side. plate 105 of the printing arm. The two shafts 27 and 28 constitute the supporting shafts of two spools 29 and 30 of a ribbon mechanism the ribbon 31 of which is carried from one spool 29 past the printing plate to the other spool 30. A holder 33 isrigidly secured to the front side plate 105 of the printing arm 105 by means of a screw 32 and the front ends of the shafts 27 and 28 are secured in the said holder 33 (see figures 2', 3 and 11) Two ratchet wheels 34 and 35 are loosely mounted on the shafts 27 and 28 and connegted to the spools 29, 30 so that the spool 29 or the spool 30 is carried along during the rotation of the wheel 34 or the wheel 35. In view of the ribbon spool 30, the front side plate 105 of the printing arm is provided with a recess 49.

If the ribbon spools 29 and 30 are to be removed alone, or together with their supporting shaft 27, 28 in order to be exchanged for new ribbon spools, it is only necessary to release the holder 33 from the front side plate 105 whereupon the ribbon spools 29 and 30 may be removed with their shafts 27 and 28 in front from the printing arm since they remain secured to the holder 33. The recess 49 in the front plate 105 renders it possible to remove the ribbon spool 30 in front.

According to the example illustrated, a cover plate 43 secured to the side plates is adapted to conceal the space between the two side plates 105 105 of the printing arm. An operating lever is rotatably mounted on a pin 38 in the printing arm 105 (Fig. 2, 2a) and a connecting rod extends from the said lever to a shaft 24 which is mounted in a bracket 25 screwed on to the frame of the machine. In consequence of this arrangement the rod 60, upon each upward movement of the printing arm 105, rocks the lever 40 slightly in the direction of the arrow 61 (Fig. 2 and 7). Two pawls 62, 63 are linked to the lever 40 the ends of these pawls are bent in the shape of a hook and normally engage the ratchet wheels 34, 35.

A lever 64 of triangular shape is adapted to rock on the shaft 38 at the side of the lever 40 and' two auxiliary pawls 65, 66 engage the lever at two diametrically opposite points and normally bear with their hookshaped ends on the ribbon spools 29, 30 (Fig. 7

Finally, a T-shaped lever 67 is also rotatably mounted on the shaft 38 and a pin 68 provided thereon and extending laterally therefrom engages the lever 64.

The lever 67 lies with its two ends 69, 7 0 below the pawls 62 and 63 and engages below the latter with projections 69 7 0.

The rearwardly bent end of the lever 67 is pointed at an acute angle and bears against a roller or a pin 71 mounted on a lever 72 which is rotatably mounted at 73 in the lever 64. A helical spring 75 is interposed between the lever 72 and the other corner 74 of the lever 64 and pulls the lever 72 constantly in the direction of the arrow 76 whereby the roller 71 is constantly pulled form or paper to be printed is placed on the a pad 102 and the pedal 109 is rotated about its fulcrum 112 out of the dot-and-dash-lines position in Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrow 44. This causes the toggle 107, 108 to become .straightened and the printing arm 105 to be moved in a downward direction against the action of the spring 114 until the printing plate strikes the paper and causes the plate to be printed by the ribbon 31. The pedal 113 is'now released and the printing arm 105, 106 returns to he normal position (indicated by solid lines in Fig. 5 and by dots and dashes in Figure 2) under the action of the spring 114. During this upward stroke of the printing arm 105, the rod 23 connected to the shaft 24 performs with respect to the printing arm 105 a forward movement out of the position according to Fig. 2 into the position according to Fig. 5 in the direction of the arrow 45 (Fig. 3) whereby the bar or catch 119 is moved in the direction of the arrow 46 and with its bent end 119 causes the printing plate 118 to move a certain distance from the printing arm so that it may be extracted by hand. If, however, the printing plate 118 is provided with a handle such as the handle 47 (Fig. 2) the ejector may be dispensed with in an apparatus according to the invention. After the front end of the rod has moved past the bar or catch 119, the latter returns to its initial position under the action of the spring 121 (Fig. 3a) and upon the following descent of the printing arm 05 the curved rod 23 which is suitably beveled at its lower end slides past the bar or catch 119 and retEurnsgto the operative position according to For each upward stroke of the printing arm 105 the ribbon 31 is fed forward through a small distance as is hereinafter fully explained.

In the first place it is assumed that the parts of the apparatus occupy the position shown in Figures 2 and 7 in which the pawl 63 engages the ratchet wheel of the ribbon spool while the pawl 62 is held disengaged from the ratchet wheel 34 by the end 69" of the lever 67. As often as the printing arm 105 moves upwardly the pawl 63 is moved in the direction of the arrow 78 by the rotation of the lever in the direction of the arrow 61 (Fig. 7) causing the ribbon spool 30 to move in the direction of the arrow 79 where by a movement of the ribbon 31 in the direction of the arrow 80 is effected while the ribbon is wound on the spool 30 and unwound from the spool 29. During each descent of the printing arm 105 a movement of the rib bon spools does not take place.

After the whole ribbon 31 has been wound from the spool 29 on the spool 30, the hookshaped end of the auxiliary pawl engages the bush 29 of the ribbon spool 29 and drops in a slot or recess 81 int-he bush 29. Upon further rotation of the spool bush 29 in the direction of the arrow 82 by the tension of the ribbon 31 in the direction of the arrow the pawl 65 is displaced by the spool bush 29 in the direction of the arrow 83 thereby causing the lever 64 to be rocked-in the direction of the arrow 84 about the pin 38 out of the position according to Fig. 7 into the position according to Figure 10.

The lever 64 entrains the lever 72 so that the roller 71 on the lever 72 moves past the end 67 as is shown in Fig.- 9 and the lever 67 is then rocked under the action of the spring 75 into the position according to Figure 9.

During this rocking movement of the lever 67 out of the position according to Fig. 7 over the position according to Fig. 9 into the position according to Fig. 10, the end or abutment 7 0 of the lever 67 lifts the pawl 63 out of the ratchet wheel 35 while the other pawl 62 is released by the end or abutment 69' of the lever 67 and now engages the ratchet wheel 34 under its weight. The consequence is that now upon each upward movement of the printing arm 105 the ratchet wheel 34 is turned through a small angle by the pawl 62 in the direction of the arrow and the direction of the ribbon 31 is reversed, the ribbon 31 bein now wound from the spool 30 in the directlon of the arrow 91 and wound on the spool 29 (Fig. 10).

After the ribbon 31 has been almost completely unwound from the spool 30, the auxiliary pawl 66 engages in the slot 92 of the spool bush30' and the lever 34 is now rocked in an opposite direction to the arrow 84 out of the position according to Fig. 10 over the position according to Fig. 9 into the position according to Figure 7 which is equivalent to the reversal of the movement of the ribbon, latter being automatically repeated after each unwinding of the ribbon from one of its spools. V

In order to be able to exchange the entire ribbon mechanism, it is only necessary to unscrew the holder 33 whereupon the entire ribbon mechanism with the ribbon may be laterally removed from the printing arm on the side of the holder 33, the front side plate being provided for this purpose with suitable recess 49 (Fig. 2)

Referring now to Fig. 11 this shows a handle 54 instead of the pedal 109 for operating the printing mechanism.

I claim 1. In a machine for printing from printing plates, a table, a printing arm adapted to receive a printing plate and mounted to rock on said table, a ribbon-feed mechanism and a plate ejector on said arm, and means on said arm which are adapted to be operated by its rocking movement foractuating said.

mechanism andsaid ejector.

2. In a machine for printing from printing plates, a table, a printing arm adapted to receive a printing plate and mounted to rock on said table, a ribbon-feed mechanism and a plate ejector on said arm, a pivot on said table, and means on said arm which are abutted on said pivot and are adapted to' he operated by its rocking movement for actuating said mechanism and said ejector.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH KRELL. 

